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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Stir Fried Green Beans with Diced Shrimps and Tofu 粒粒脆

I have to admit that I had a real hard time trying to name this. I have always known this as "lap lap ceoi" 粒粒脆 in Cantonese, translated to mean "a crunch on every bite", a dish very well named indeed depicting the nature of the dish rather well. In an attempt to name this in English, any names that crossed my mind seemed somewhat lacking and insufficient, not doing enough justice to represent this well. I reasoned that to the fact that every single ingredient used in creating this - big or small, expensive or not so, holds a crucial role in defining this dish as a whole making naming a little challenging. Stir fried green beans with diced shrimps and tofu was what I decided on in the end. That I made a decision based on what I see and decipher with one quick glimpse at the picture on top - green beans, diced shrimps and tofu with the other two mostly hidden (possibly a blessing in disguise in my case? lol).

One of the few regulars of mom's at home back then, this is a simple dish that easily shines almost like none others. The only challenging part it ever poses is the cutting part getting everything diced, uniformly sized preferably. This goes exceptionally well with a bowl of plain rice, congee or even as a snack on its own. Green beans cooked to the perfect crisp, springy and firm shrimps, moist yet bouncy tofu, crunchy and aromatic peanuts all further enhanced with the salty and distinct flavor of the preserved radish, each bite brings about a kaleidoscope of color, texture and taste guaranteeing a contentment at the end of a meal.

1. Heat up the wok with 1 tsp of cooking oil. Dry-fry the tofu for about a minute or two and dish up.2. Heat up the wok with another tsp of cooking oil. Add in the green beans and stir fry until about 70% done. Set aside.3. Heat the wok with the remaining cooking oil. Once well heated, bring in the minced garlic and stir fry until fragrant. Once it starts browning a little, add in the preserved radish and stir well. The strong and sour smell from the radish should be almost instantaneous. 4. Bring in the diced shrimps next. Stir until the shrimps start changing color appearing whitish. 5. Toss in the both the tofu and green bean next, followed by the peanuts.6. Drizzle in the soy sauce slowly from the inner rim around of the wok and stir to mix well.7. Finish by adding in both types of dark soy sauces and mix thoroughly and evenly.8. Dish up and serve hot.